Coke oven apparatus



Aug' L 1933- F. .Jy PFLUKE ET AL 1,920,93

COKE OVEN APPARATUS Filed Feb. 26, 1929 5Sheets-Sheet 1 ug F, 1 PFLUKE ET AL Lgzg? COKE OVEN APPARATUS Filed Feb. 26, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ugl933- F. J. PFLUKE 5r A1. 1,920,913

COKE ovm: APPARATUS Filed Feb. 26, 1929 5 sheets-sheet 3 Elec-mfc 6 swnc/fss All@ 1 1933 F. J. PFLUKE ET AL 1,920,913

COKE OVEN APPARATUS Filea Feb. 26, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 f 0 ATTNEY Aug.. 1933, F. J. PFLUKE Er A1.

COKE OVEN APPARATUS Filed Feb. 26, 1929 @2 ily UNITED STATES PATENT yformes com;` OVEN APPARATUS Frederick lj.' Pluke` and LinnY B. /owmam Rochester, N. Y., assignors tok The Kappers Companyof Delaware, a, Corporation of' Dela- Ware y, l

Application February 26,1929. serial No. 342,85!)

12 claims. (o1. 2oz- 151) Our invention relates to. eolie-oven apparatus from the gas mainthrough the gas valve and out and particularly to safety 'devices for the operthrough the wastegas valve into the Waste gas ating mechanisms of coking retort ovens. iiue.

One object of our invention is'to provide sim- It is the purpose of the present invention to f ple and'- eiective means for preventing the provide means for positively insuring that the formation `of explosive mixtures in the Waste gas valvesfor controlling the 'gas supply Iand the flues orthe' stacks crooks-oven batteries by reaoutlets of the Waste gases from the regenerators son of the failure of any part of the reversing to the stack operate in such sequence that exjmechanism'to properly perform its normal func-plosive mixtures cannot occur. The usual gas E if@ tions. 1. `rod and the air and Waste gas rod of thereversi" A further object of ourV invention Ais to proingmechanism, and which rods" are movable in vide means'for interlocking the mechanisms for oppositefdirectiors,are so interlocked by mecontrolling the flow of air, fuel gas and Waste gas charical means Vthat the movement of the air f in such manner thatabn'ormalv combinations fof and Wastegas rod to' "open 'the corresponding such'gaseous fluids are prevented in case ofv failvalves is prevented when the gasrod occupies ure of any part of the controlling meclianisnji.'` itspositi'on corresponding to 'the'open positions A further 'object "of our invention is te previde -of the gas valves of the same regencrators. Also, simple and eflicient mechanical meansv for" Iso each of the rods is provided with ya cable Yfor Vconinterlccking the usual oppositely movable rods nection;to the reversing machine and with a 5 for 'controlling the valvesor dampers of' coking slack cable switch vin circuit withthe reversing retort ovens that the movement of one`--`of the machine motor. 'The' switches operate to rstop 'rods to opencertain of the valves is prevented the' motor in case 'of breakage of either of the when the other of 'the rods occupies apredeter'- cables. l f mined position. j VThe details of our invention will be described AV stillA Ifurther `object of our invention is to in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, provide Asimple means for mechanically 4interin which i locking the reversing mechanism of coking retort Figql `is a side elevational view of a cokeovens whereby it is impossible'for certain sets ovenbatterylprovided tvith apparatus of our inof the valves to simultaneously occupy their open vention, parts beingv broken away; posi-tions. f Y. v Fig. 2 is an elevational view in enlarged de- In the operation of' coking retort ovens; it is tail of the vinterlocking mechanism and associ' customary to 'supply' air to Vhalf of the inlet reated parts; i generators and producer gasto the other h'alf'oi'i Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating the inlet regenerators and to Withdraw Waste diagrammatica'lly 'the several positions of the Q0 gases from all Vof the outlet regenerators. The interlocking mechanism; connections for the regenerators are periodically Fig. 4 is a vertic'al'sectional view of a portion reversed by automatic mechanism which closes of a coke-oven battery and the valve mechanisms the valves or dampers for the Waste gas regenery for controlling thev admission" of air and gas ators 'and also closes the respective valves or thereto and the flow offwaste gases therefrom; 95 40 d'ampers for the air and the gas regenerators. Eig.j5 is a side elevational view of slack cable The air and the lgas valves for the regenerators switches and portions of the reversing apparathatl have been transmitting Waste gases `arey then tus; Y opened to admit air and gas, as the case may be, Fig. 6 `is a perspective vievv of a modified fform Y and the regenerators that have been previously of interlock in which cables are substituted for m@ 4J supplied with air and gas are novv operated as mechanical levers; l Waste gasregenerators. Figsi'. and 8 are side elevational views of theV `It `vvill be appreciated that in case the valves for apparatus of Fig. 6;l and the regenerators 4operate in improper sequence, Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional elevation taken ll 'u result, vWith the'possibility of anexplosion in the Reference may now be had' to Figs. 1,2 and S,

Waste gas main or in the stack. Such mixture in which are illustrated the reversing mechanism may occur if, for example, the fuel gas valve is of a vcoke-oven vbattery rand the associated apopened before the Waste gas valve isv closed, 'or paratus. l rif the Waste gas valve opensbefore the fuel gas A coke-oven"battery .1, only a portion of which valveis closed. In `either case, the fuelgas flows is shown, comprises the vusualsi-de walls 2,oven

a mixture of fuel gas and hot Waste gasesmay longitudinally of a coke-oven battery.' G5` i.

chambers 3, gas-combustion heating means or iiues 3', and buckstays 4. Along the side of the battery are provided a series of valve mechanismsv 5 for controlling the admission of air and gas to the battery for combustion therein and forv controlling the exhausting of the-waste gases from the battery. y

In accordanceV with usual practice, half of the valve kmechanisms 5 are arranged tov transmit either air or waste gas while the other valve,

mechanisms are arranged to transmit either fuel gas or .waste gas. Y

The positions of the several valves for controlling the air inlets, the gas inlets and the outlets 'for waste gases are ,controlled by'two horizontal rods 6 and 7. The rod 6 'controls the valves for admitting fuel gas and it will be hereinafter referred toY as the gas rod. The rod l7 .controls both the valves for the air. inlets and;

nected to the respective rodsby cables 9 and'lO A' which pass over sheave wheels'lll and` 12. At the opposite ends of the rods 6 andi'7v, cablesE 13 and 14 connected thereto pass over 4sheave kwheels 15 and 16 and are provided at their outer and lower ends with counter-'weights 17 vand 18.

VIn the actuation of the Arods 6 and 7, the reversing mechanism 8 is operated by any electric motor v(not shown) to pull VVone of therods to the right, as viewed inFig. l, while the fcable connected to 'the other rod isk paidout to permit 40- the corresponding counterweight topull 'the lat- 4 ter rod to the left. 'It will be readily appreciated thatV the normal operation ofthe rods 6 and 7 to reverse the'positions of the corresponding valve couldnot occur if either of the cables 9, 10, 13 or 14 were broken lor ifthe counterweights 17 and 18 were obstructed in their downward movement. The breaking ofwone or both( of the rods would also cause abnormal Aoperation of the reversing apparatus. Such yabnormal operation might admit fuel gas into the ducts for connecting waste gas with the consequent danger of causing an explosion in the waste gas ue or the stack. Y

In order to'ipo'sitively'preven't thevalve mech,- anism connected to the ,rods and 7 from assuming positions that are inconsistent with the safe operation of the battery, we have provided a mechanical4 interlock` 2O -for preventing the actuation of theA rods Vto 'cause improper operationnof the valves. They interlock 20 ,comprises three steel arms or lever's`2l, 22 vand 23 that cooperate with blocks 24 and 25 that are respectively connected to the rods 6 and, '7. The lever 2l has a stationary pivotal support atv26 substantially midway between the rods 6, and 7. The lever 22 is pivoted at one end on'the pivotal support 26, the other end being connected to the lower end of lever 23, theV upper end of the latter being pivotally connected to therod 6. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the upper vend of the'lever 21 is adapted to engage the block 24 under certain lconditions while the lower end of the' lever 22 is adapted toY engage a shoulder on the block 25 under certain other conditions.y

Reference may now be had toA Fig. 4, in which to the valve 32.

are shown the details of the means for supply'- ing gas and air to one of the regenerators and for exhausting waste gases therefrom, including one of the valve mechanisms 5. A gas main 28 for conveying producer gas is connectedthrough a duct 29 to the sole flue 30 or common passageway for conveying 'gas to one of the regenerators 30 of the battery and thence to its combustion means or iiues 3 and for conveying waste gas therefrom, the flow of gas being controlled 'by a manually-operable valve k3l and valvecl gas inlet means comprising a valve 32 that is controlled by the gas rod 6.

The gas rod 6'is connected to the valve 32 by 'means ofY a chain 33, a bell crank lever 34 and a link 35 that hasa pin-and-slot connection to a bell-cranklever 36 that is directly connected The manually-operable valve 31 is adjusted prior to the operation of the battery by a hand-wheel 37 since, as previously stated, gas is supplied to the rbattery through half of the inlet regenerators at any given time.

The admission of air to the sole ue or common passageway 3G, incase the corresponding regenerator is used as an air regenerator is controlled by a valve or damper 38 of substantiallyY rectangular form, certain of these dampers beingshown in theirjopen positions in Fig.

The air and-waste gas rod 'Iris connected to the 'valve 38 by a chain 39,.a leverv40 that is connected to a rock shaft 41, a lever arm 42, a vertical link 43, a lever arm 44 and a rock shaft 45-that is connected to the valve 38 by a levei` arm 46.k The latter is provided at its outer or left-hand end, as shown in Fig. 4, with a clamp comprisinga pivoted bolt 47 and a thumb nut 48 whereby the valve 88 may be securely fastened in. its closed position. This clamp is employed when the corresponding 4regenerator is used as a gas regenerator in which case no air is admitted.

v The `connection of the sole flue 30 to a vertiwastegas outlet means comprising a valve 51 that is operated by a lever 52 connected to the rock shaft 41. It will be noted that the air valve38 andthe waste gas* valve 51 yare both connected tothe rock shaft 41 but when the regenerator is employed as a gas regenerator rather than air, the valve 38` is disconnected from the rock shaft 41 in order that the waste gas valve 51 may operate. The lever arm 40 is provided with a counterweight 53 for rinsuring the opening of the air valve 38 Whenthe latter isconnected'ior operation upon the movement or the rod 7 to permitthe waste gas valve 51 to close.

. The sequence of operation of the severall valves shown in Fig. 4 will be described in conwith'the corresponding positions of therespective valve mechanisms, as indicated by `the legends G, A and WG, respectively. The valve mechanism rof Fig. 4 is adjusted for permitting the exhausting of waste gases4 to the stack through theopen valve 51 and the duct 50. y

Ull

'. middle ofbattcry Break occurring at half of -travel during reversing Results l Gas counterweight going down air` and W G going up l. Gas countcrweight. Hang Cable switch stops machine-gas is' up or drop oil' oi-air and 'W.G. partly open 2. Break at machine end of` Gas rod would be stopped in neutral 'gas rods by interlock, leaving all gas valvesA Slack cable switches stops machine 3. Break at machine end on air and W. G. rods 4. Break in rod in thc middle ol battery 5. Break in air rod in the 6. Break at counterweight end oi air rods Break at counterweght end of gas rods Counterwez'ght air going down Y' Gas going up-counterweight Same as preceding A modification ofthe interlock mechanism is shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, in which the mechanical devices are replaced by an arrangement com- '302 prising two cables 59 and 60, the former being rlever 63 having a pivotal support at 64, the other Y end of the lever 63 being connected to the cable- 60. The cable is connected to the counter.-

weight 17. p

When the rods 6 and 7 and the connected parts are in the respective positions in which they are '401 shown in Fig. 7, a failure on the reversing-machine side of the points of attachment of the safety cables does notcause anything to happen since the gas rod is in its extreme' left-hand position away from the reversing machine. In case of a similar failure on the air and waste-gas vention of this movement of the rod 7 prevents the mixture of fuel gas and vwaste gas since the gasrod is already in its left-hand position and if the'air andwaste-gas rod 7 were actuated to Vthe left at this time, both gas and air would be admitted into the waste gas ilue.V l

- When the rods 6 and 7 and their connected parts are in the positions shownV in Fig. 8,' a failure of the air-reversing mechanism on the reversing-machine side ofthe points of attachment of the safety cables can-cause no harm since the air and-waste-gas rod is already in its extreme position-from 'the reversing machine. However, in case offailure in the gas-reversing mechanism, there is just sufficient slack in the cable '59 to allow the gas rod 6 to drop back to its neutral position since the cable 60 is slack at this time, as' illustrated. Accordingly, no

abnormal flow of gas into the waste gas iiue can' In case of failure of the reversing mechanism beyond the points at which the safetyV cables are attached. no harm can occur until a reverse takes place. Thereupon, the cables connected to the reversing machine will become slack and the 'slack cable switches will trip out, permitting the reversing'machine to operate to its middle or neutral position.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art relating to the construction and operation of coke-oven batteries 'that wehave provided a simple and efficient mechanism for positively preventing'the formation of explosive mixtures in the waste-gas iiue and stack by preventing the adjustment of the gas valves to their open positions when the waste-gas valves of the corresponding regenerators are open to connect the regenerators to the stack. i

The importance of an arrangement whereby any failure in any part of the reversing mechanism will be prevented from causing abnormal or inconsistent positions of the reversing mechanisms will be readily understood in view of the heavy investment in the installationy of the cokeoven plant and the ldanger to life in case of an explosion.

'While we have shown and described our invention in its preferred form, it is not limited thereto-other than is expressed in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A coke oven apparatus comprising gas-combustion heating means therefor; a common passageway for conveying gas to the combustion vmeans and for conveying waste gas therefrom; valved gas-inlet means foi' conveying gasfor the combustion means to said common passage; valved waste-gas-outlet means for conveying waste gas of the combustion means from said common passage; reversing mechanism for controlling the positions of the valves of said valved means, and interlocking means for preventing the opening of the valve of one of the valve means when the'valve of the other valved means is open. l

2. Coke oven apparatus comprising gas-combustion heating means therefor, a regenerator for supplyingl gas to the combustion means and for exhaust of waste gas therefrom and having gas supply means for supplying gas thereto for conveyance to said combustion means and a waste gas main connected thereto for conveying waste gas of said combustion means from said regenerator, valves for controlling said gas supply means and said-main, respectively, reversing mechanism for controlling the positions of said valves, and interlocking means for preventing said valves from occupying open positions simultaneously.

3. A coke oven apparatus comprising gas-combustion heating means therefor; a common passageway for conveying gas to the combustion means and for conveying waste gas therefrom; valved gas-inlet means for conveying gas for the combustion means to said common passage; valvedV waste-gas-outlet means for conveying waste gas of the combustion means from said common passage; reversing mechanism for controlling the positions of the valves of said valved means, and interlocking means for preventing the opening of the valve of one of the valved means when the valve of the'other valved means is open, said interlocking means comprising members movable with oppositely movable parts of said reversing mechanism and means for engaging said members when said movable parts assume certain relative positions.

4. Coke oven apparatus comprising gas comlll) bustion heating .means therefor, aregenerator for supplying gas to the combustion means and for exhaust of waste gas therefrom and having gassupply means for rsupplying gas thereto for conveyance to said combustion meansand a Waste, gas main connected thereto for conveying waste said valves from occupying open positions simultaneously, said interlocking means comprising members connected to oppositely movable parts of s aid reversing mechanism andlevcrs for engaging said members to prevent certain movements of one o said parts relatively to thek other.V

5. Coke ovenl apparatus comprising `gas ccmbustion heating `means therefor, inea-nsV for supplying air and gas tothe combustion means,

. means for conducting .waste gases from the com- CIL bustion means, valves for controlling the supplying means and the conducting means, respectively, reversing means for alternately opening and closing certain of said valves while closing and opening certain other of said valvesfand interlocking meansior preventing the operation of said mechanism to open all of said valves simultaneousl'y.V f Y 6. Coke oven apparatus comprising gas combustion heating means therefor, passages for conveying air and gas thereto andfor conveying waste gas therefrom, separate means for supplying air and gas to said passages, means for conducting waste gases from said passages, valves for controlling'the supplying means and the conducting means, respectively,A reversing means comprising twooppositely movable members, one

of which controls the valves for the supply means andthe waste gas conducting means and the other of which controls the valves for the gas supply means, and means for interconnecting said movable members to prevent their `simultaneously occupying positions corresponding to the open positions of the valves controlled thereby for controlling inflow to and outiiovf from the same openings.

7. Coke oven apparatus comprising valve-reversing mechanism including two opposi-tely movf a Vpivotally mounted bar for coacting with the block on one of said movable members and operatively connected to the'other of said movable members, whereby it is moved into and out of the path of the coacting block and a lever for coacting with both of said blocks for limiting the movements of said movable members.

9. Coke oven apparatuscomprising reversing mechanism having two oppositely movable members, a block on each of said members, a lever for coacting with said blocks for limiting movements of said members in one direction, a bar for engaging a blocken one of said members, and means for connecting said bar-to the other of said members whereby the engagement of said bar and said one block is dependent upon the relative positions of` said members.

l0. Coke oven apparatus comprising gas cornn bustion heating means therefor, means for supplying air to the combustion means, 'means for supplying gas to the combustion means, means for conducting Waste gases from the combustion means, valves for controlling the supplying means Y' and said .conducting means, respectively, revers-l vmeclrianism having two oppositely movable members', and afmotor for actuating said members, mechanical means for interlocking said members against relative movement upon failure of one of said members to'be actuated by said motor when the other responds -to actuationV and electrical switch means controlled by said members and operable upon failure ofsaid members as `aiorc-vsad to control said motor so as to discontinueactuation of said members` by. said motor.

12. Coke oven apparatus comprising gas combustion heating means therefor, valved means for conveying gas to the combustion means, valved means for conveying Waste'gas from the combustion means, reversing means adapted for opening 'and closing the valves of both of said valved means,

and locking meansadapted for locking the reversing means for preventing the valves of both of` said valvedmeans from being opened simultane-. A

`ously by the reversing means.

FREDERICK J. PFLUKE, LINN B. BOWMAN. 

